Trump more than three months out of office remains the dominant force within GOP politics and is willing to try to sink fellow Republicans heading into 2022.
That’s left Republicans divided into largely three camps: Flatter Trump, try to ignore Trump or, increasingly rarely, fight Trump, none of which unite a fractured party.
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Cheney’s embrace of the third option is not only highlighting her odd-woman-out status on Capitol Hill, but putting renewed focus on those larger divisions.
“There is an overwhelming need to please Trump … and yet that is felt more in the House than in the Senate,” said Doug Heye, a GOP strategist and former House leadership aide, about the differences in strategy. “That’s a big part of it.”
Luntz noted in an interview on the New York Times podcast “Sway” released Thursday that “more than two-thirds of Republicans believe that the election was stolen,” warning that a widespread and unproven belief that there was rampant fraud last November could turn Republicans off from voting in the midterm elections.
“What Donald Trump is saying is actually telling people it s not worth it to vote. Donald Trump single-handedly may cause people not to vote. And he may be the greatest tool in the Democrats arsenal to keep control of the House and Senate in 2022,” Luntz said.
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The pollster also said that Trump would be the odds-on favorite to win the Republican nomination if he runs again in 2024.